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+--- Thread: Birth canals are different round the world, countering an evolutionary theory (/thread-6322.html)
Birth canals are different round the world, countering an evolutionary theory - C C - Oct 25, 2018
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/10/birth-canals-are-different-all-over-world-countering-long-held-evolutionary-theory
EXCERPT: The shape of a mother’s birth canal is a tug-of-war between two opposing evolutionary forces: It needs to be wide enough to allow our big-brained babies to pass through, yet narrow enough to allow women to walk efficiently. [...] The idea that women’s pelvises have been shaped by an evolutionary compromise—also known as the “obstetrical dilemma”—has been influential in anthropology [...] But recent studies have challenged it [...] If the obstetric dilemma held true, one would expect birth canals around the world to be relatively standardized, Wells says. But that’s not what researchers found. [...] birth canals come in a variety of shapes in women around the world.[...] The work could improve practices surrounding childbirth [...] The new findings suggest that if a baby’s movements differ from what’s considered normal for a particular region, she says, it’s not necessarily cause for concern. It may simply reflect the range of birth canal shapes seen throughout the world....
MORE: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/10/birth-canals-are-different-all-over-world-countering-long-held-evolutionary-theory